Rise And Shine To Enjoy The Breakfast Time!

By: Saima Ausaf

Breakfast literally means, “Breaking the fast” from the last meal consumed the day before. This could be 8-10 hours in general depending on the time the dinner was eaten the previous evening. Nutritionists agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and skipping breakfast is one of the biggest nutritional mistakes that people do quite often.

While you are asleep your body goes on repairing, building and renewing the cells. By the time you wake up, your glucose level is low and your body is drained of its fuel sources. Breakfast gives your body the kick start it needs to function successfully all day long. Glucose is the main energy source for the body and it is required to energize the muscles to cope up with the physical activities required throughout the day.
 

Myths and facts about Breakfast:

MYTH: It is ok to skip breakfast as it is not an important meal of the day.

FACT: Breakfast is the MOST important meal of the day.

MYTH: Skipping breakfast tends to lose weight.

FACT: Skipping breakfast is strongly linked to the development of obesity. According to research, breakfast skippers tend to eat more than usual at the next meal or nibble on high-calorie snacks to ward off hunger. Studies show that people tend to accumulate more body fat when they eat fewer, larger meals than when they eat the same number of calories in smaller, more frequent meals.

MYTH: Eating breakfast will make you tired during the day.

FACT: Breakfast provides the energy to kick-start your day. Research has proven that eating breakfast increases the attention level in children. The effects of skipped breakfast are: short attention span, lack of alertness, longer reaction time, low blood sugar and decreased work productivity.

QUICK AND HEALTHY BREAKFAST IDEAS:

Many people have a number of excuses for not having breakfast like “not hungry” or “no time” etc. For them, here are few simple ideas to add this most important meal in their daily routine:

• Cereal with strawberries/blueberries and skim milk.
• Oatmeal, orange and skim milk.
• Pancakes topped with fruit and skim milk.
• Granola bar, apple and yoghurt.
• Whole wheat toast with poached egg and salsa.
• Scrambled egg with vegetables and salsa.
• Breakfast smoothie.

The following points may also be considered while preparing a healthy breakfast for yourself and your family:

• Breakfast should supply about 25 percent of your daily nutritional requirement. For a man eating 2500 calories a day it should be around 625 calories, for a woman eating 2000 calories, around 500 calories.
• Should be high in complex carbohydrates and fibre, low in saturated fats like butter and have a moderate amount of good quality protein like: eggs.
• Go for a whole fruit instead of fruit juices.
• Be careful while adding additional layers of butter on your toast.
• Go for 100 percent whole grain products as often as possible.

Eating a healthy breakfast not only provides a basis of a well balanced diet high in nutrients, minerals and vitamins but also enhances mental performance by improving your ability to focus, understand and perform tasks. The biggest meal of the day should be breakfast as this is when you are giving your body the maximum amount of time to burn off the meal as energy. So, if you are one of those who skip breakfast quite often, now is the time to think and adopt a nutritious diet and improve lifestyle habits, so that you feel better and enjoy a much healthier and productive life.